James ward packard



(No Model.)

J. W. PACKARD.

PUMP OPERATING APPARATUS.

No. 426,417. Patented Apr. 22, 1890.

WITMES E8 5 a 2 JEWZ'OZ 4494:? @MMW UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES IVARD PACKARD, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

PUM P-OPERATING APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 426,417, dated April 22, 1890.

Application filed .1 anuary 9, 1889- To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JAMES WVARD PACKARD, a citizen of the United States, residing at New York, in the county ofNeW York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Pump-Operating Apparatus; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The object of my invention is to provide an apparatus for rapidly and economically operating a system of mercury-pumps.

In the drawings, Figure 1 represents a portion of such a system of mercury-pumps with my improved apparatus attached. Figs. 2, 3, and 4 represent sectional views of a modified form of valve.

As is well known in the manufacture of incandescent electric lamps, a large number of mercury-pumps are connected together in one system and operated by a powerful mechanical vacuum-pump. Thus, as indicated in Fig. 1, P and P are mercury-pumps to which the mechanical vacuum-pump M is connected. WVhen the pump M exhausts the air from the bulbs F F, &c., of the mercury-pumps, the mercury rises in the bulbs F and F and runs from out the bulbs f f A portion of the air in the lamp-bulbs (not shown) attached to the pipes G G flows out into the bulbs f f. On openingthe valve d the air rushes in through the dry-tube D, and forces the mercury out of the bulbs F F and into the bulbs f f driving out the portion of air imprisoned within the latter through the eduotion-tubes E E. Numerous repetitions of this operation exhaust nearly all the air from the lamp-bulbs and place them in a condition for further treatment. It will be obvious that with the old method of simply connecting the mechanical pump M to the mercury-pumps the said mechanical pump will be runningidle during all that portion of the time when air is being admitted to the mercury-pumps through the valve cl. As it is necessary to cause the air to enter slowly in order that the sudden rush of mercury into the bulbs ff may not break the pump, a considerable portion of time is consumed in this operation. To avoid this loss I have designed the following apparatus:

Serial No. 295,858. (No model.)

urn-pump M. The pipe B is connected with the mercury-pumps by the branch pipes H H, &c. It is controlled by the stop-cock h.

The method of operating my apparatus is the following: The pump-bulbs F F, (be, be ing filled with mercury, and the mercurypumps consequently at one end of their stroke, the valve 1) is closed and the valves a and cl are opened. This permits the air to flow into the mercury-pumps through the drytube D and the valve (1, and while this is being done the mechanical pump is exhausting the air from the vacuum-tank T. When the pump-bulbs f f are filled with mercury, and the mercury-pumps are thus at the other end of their stroke, the valve cl is closed and the valves a and I) opened. The air in the pumpbulbs F F, &c., and the connecting-pipes rushes instantly into the vacuum-tank T, and in a moment the work of exhausting the air from the said pump-bulbs]? F, &c., is half accomplished. The valve to is then closed, and the other half of the exhaustion of the air from the mercury-pumps is completed by the mechanical pump in the ordinary way. The valve Z) is then closed, the valves a and d opened, and the operation repeated, as before described.

In the modification illustrated in Figs. 2, 3, and 4 the valves a and b are dispensed with and replaced by the three-way cock X, located at the junction of the pipes A, B, and G. As shown in Fig. 2, the cock X is turned so as to complete the exhaustion of the mercury-pump bulbs. In Fig. 3 the cock Xhas been turned through an angle of ninety degrees, and the mechanical pump is exhausting the air from the vacuum-tank T, while air is being admitted to the mercury-pumps through the valve (Z, in the manner and for the purpose above described. In Fig. 4 the cock X has been turned through another angle of ninety degrees, and the vacuum-tank, mercury-pump, and mechanical pump are all thrown into coniiection, one with another, and the air from the mercury-pumps is permitted to rush into ICO the vacuum-tank until an equilibrium of pressure is established, which results in ex- 4 hausting half the air from the said mercurypumps in the manner above described. The cock X is next turned back through an angle of one hundred and eighty degrees into the position shown in Fig. 2 and the operation repeated.

WVhile I have described my invention as applied to the operating of a set of mercurypumps, it is evident that it could be equally well applied to any use where it was desired to alternately fill and exhaust one or more receptacles for containing an elastic gas. In any such case the said receptacles would take the place of the mercury-pumps shown in Fig. 1 and be connected with the rest of the apparatus by the pipe B in the same manner.

The benefits derived from the employment of my apparatus are based on the fact that while the air is being slowly admitted to the pumps the mechanical pump is not running idly against the atmospheric pressure produced by the vacuum generated within its own cylinder, but is exhausting the air from the tank T, which vacuum, when the valves are opened, is immediately transferred to the mercury-pumps, and the operation of exhausting the air from the said mercury-pumps shortened by one-half in time.

Having therefore described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to protect by Letters Patent, is

l. The combination of the system of mercury-punips, the mechanical vacuum-pump, and the vacuum-tank, together with a system of pipes which connects each of the abovementioned elements with the other two, and the three-way cock located at the intersection of said pipes, substantially as described.

2. The combination of a system of mercurypumps, a mechanical vacuum-pump, and a vacuum-tank, together with a system of pipes which connects each of the above-mentioned elements with the other two, and cutoff means, constructed and located as described, for throwing the tank and the mercury-pumps into and out of connection with the mechanical pump and with each other, substantially as described.

3. The combination of a system of mercury pumps, a mechanical vacuum-pump, and a Vacuum-tank, together with a system of pipes which connects each of the above elements with the other two, the three-way cock located at the intersection of said pipes, and an inletvalve located on the pipe leading to the mercury-pump, substantially as described.

4. The combination of asystem of mercurypumps, a mechanical vacuum-pump, and a vacuum-tank, together with a system of pipes which connects each of the above-mentioned elements with the other two, cut-off means,constructed and located as described, for throwing the tank and the mercury-pumps into and out of connection with the mechanical pump and with each other, and an inlet-valve located on the pipe leading to the mercurypumps, substantially as described.

5. The combination of one or more receptacles which are to be alternately filled with an elastic gas and exhausted, a mechanical pump, and a vacuum-tank, together with a system of pipes which connects each of the above elements with the other two, and the three-way cock located at the intersection of said pipes, substantially as described.

6. The combination of one or more receptacles which are to be alternately filled with an elastic gas and exhausted, a mechanical vacu-- urn-pump, and a vacuum-tank, together with asystem of pipes which connects each of the above-mentioned elements with the other two,

and cut-off means, constructed and located as described, for throwing the tank and the said receptacles into and out of connection with the mechanical pump and with each other, substantially as described.

'7. The combination of one or more receptacles which are to be alternately filled with an elastic gas and exhausted, a mechanical vacuum-pump, and a vacuum-tank, together with a system of pipes which connects each of the above elements with the two others, the threeway cock located at the intersection of said pipes, and an inlet-valve located on the pipe leading to the said receptacles, substantially as described.

8. The combination of one or more receptacles which are to be alternately filled with an elastic gas and exhausted, a mechanical vacuu1n-pump, and a vacuum-tank, together with a system of pipes which connects each of the above-mentioned elements with the other two, cut-off means, constructed and located as de scribed, for throwing the tank and the said receptacles into and out of connection with the mechanical pump and with each other, and an inlet-valve located on the pipe leading to the said receptacles, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I ail-ix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JAMES WVARD PACKARD.

WVitnesses:

W. D. PACKARD, ED. BEEsLEY. 

